It’s been nearly a year since Canadians first went into lock-down, and many of us are still reeling from pandemic exhaustion, intensified now by the fear of a second wave.
While most of us (I’m not quite that old!) have never experienced daily bombings or line ups for post-war food rationing, we also weren’t intellectually or emotionally prepared for the devastation caused by COVID-19.
So now what? We’ve reduced team sizes and services, combined in-clinic and online Telehealth services, and have moved doctors into smaller offices. We have fewer people coming into our clinic, but the work didn’t get easier. What the hell happened?
Firstly, healthcare needed a big jolt! We got complacent. While the rest of the world adopted Telehealth, Canada remained content. Our system works just fine, right? Wrong. Many of our workflows and technologies are old and stale and not bringing us the ROI they should. Both physicians and administrators dragged their heels into the new frontier. And, I’m going to say it, we administrators need to lead the charge, not hold it back. We are the only ones who can help save our antiquated system and bring it into the future of what healthcare will probably look like forever. Telehealth is here to stay, and we need to get good at:
- Speaking a language that reduces the fear of unknown new systems for our patients.
- Designing and testing robust new workflows for Telehealth – it’s more work, not less.
- Supporting and sharing what we know works.
It’s time to care in a big way again — a time for hope, gratitude, bravery, and optimism. We only build resilience when we’re willing to face adversity, march on through the rough patches together, and find the light of a brave new world.
Join us for Medical Management Mondays to learn from people with frontier expertise. Learn how to optimize teamwork, test new strategies, and assure your clinical team whistles while they work to save lives, save time, and save money.